At last, a game that allows you to first have a disagreement with yourself, and then reconcile by jointly crafting dumplings from synthesized organic material.
This week, a demo version of The Alters, a sci-fi adventure game by 11 bit Studios, the creators of Frostpunk and This War of Mine, is now available on Steam. Unlike Frostpunk, The Alters focuses more on plot and narrative.
Jan Dolski, a miner, along with his team, lands on a remote planet orbited by three suns. They discover reserves of rapidium, a mysterious substance that speeds up biological processes. However, all the team’s landing pods crash under mysterious circumstances, leaving only Jan alive.
In 10 days, a local sun will emit deadly radiation, threatening all life. Jan has a mobile base, access to rapidium, and the technology to create “alters,” which could theoretically aid in his survival.
How it feels
The initial allure is the ambiance of classic science fiction. Think Asimov, Lem, Bradbury, Heinlein, Niven… The setup is straightforward | an inhospitable planet, marginally advanced technologies, a universal enigma (“What is the nature of this planet? What is Rapidium?”), and a ticking clock.
Yet, true to the science fiction tradition of the ’70s and ’80s, the focus swiftly transitions from the setting and the overarching mystery to the dynamics of personal relationships. Rapidium, when used with a quantum computer, enables the creation of alters – clones of the protagonist who have experienced different lives.
In the demo, Jan’s childhood is marred by his father’s abuse towards his mother, deeply affecting him. Eventually, Jan faces a pivotal decision | attend a faraway college to escape his family woes, or stay and confront the domestic turmoil. The protagonist chooses to leave. However, had he stayed and expelled his father, he would have pursued a career as an engineer, leading the quantum computer to create Jan the technician, an alternate persona of Jan.
The demo’s concluding half-hour features interactions with Jan the technician. These exchanges delve into life discussions, shared profanities, dumpling making, and reminiscences of youth.
The full game expands on this concept, necessitating the creation of numerous Jans to operate a mobile base. This calls for a diverse array of Jans, including nerds, doctors, engineers, and other professionals, each embodying a distinct variant of Jan.
How it is played
The gameplay is structured into three distinct “layers”:
Resource exploration and extraction are crucial for construction, survival, and the creation of altars. The extraction method varies with the resource type.
For instance, mining metals and rapidium is straightforward | you simply press a button upon reaching a deposit. However, locating organic matter is more complex | its deposits lie beneath the surface, betrayed only by gas clouds escaping to the air. You must scan the ground, set beacons, and pinpoint the deposit’s “core”. Subsequently, you construct a pipeline from the deposit to your base to transport the organic material.
Construction of the base. Jan proudly owns a mobile base, a colossal wheel housing residential blocks. The base building is akin to Fallout Shelter and similar games, where one arranges room blocks and elevators in a special mode, attempting to accommodate them within a confined space.
Colony simulator. And here is the most interesting thing. It is necessary to sustain relationships with the colonists, provide for their nourishment, and assign them tasks in a manner that prevents rebellion. In the demo, you can play solely as one colonist, Jan the Technician, and you can even argue with him; at a certain point, he simply states | “Deal with your shit yourself,” he then walks to the kitchen, sits down, and contemplates life, while Jan Dolski is left with the task of fixing the communication module.
Colonists, including Jan Dolski, are at risk of starvation, fatigue, and radiation exposure. Fatigue impairs their work efficiency, increasing the likelihood of equipment failure. The base’s Workshop is a boon, allowing the crafting of various items. However, crafting is time-consuming and resource-intensive, posing a risk of labor shortages. Regrettably, the demo does not showcase this aspect.
Each colonist has a distinct personality, ranging from malevolent to benevolent, docile to defiant, content to discontent. The game features a dedicated screen for monitoring their statuses.
What it looks like
The game’s prologue is stunningly beautiful. The landing site resembles an alien planet, complete with a rainbow-hued ocean, lava pillars and darkened skies. The base’s interior boasts futuristic yet tactile and realistic rooms, reminiscent of those in Starfield.
During exploration mode, the game presents itself as an action or adventure title with a third-person perspective. Diegetic interface elements are subtly integrated; for instance, a radiation indicator is mounted on Jan’s back, curiously replicating another indicator in the screen’s lower left corner.
In colony simulator mode, the perspective shifts to an isometric view, and curiously, the game appears somewhat two-dimensional—Jan is able to move back and forth between rooms. Initially, this may seem odd, but it becomes familiar over time.
The screenshots were captured at low graphics settings.
Philosophical content
The demo already reveals that ‘The Alters’ will be a game rich in philosophical themes. It posits that a person is the sum of their actions, prompting the profound question | “Does being determine consciousness, or does consciousness determine being?”
Jan Dolski led a typical life | he left his parents, married, took out a mortgage, divorced, was hit by the economic crisis, and returned to his hometown to work as a miner. He’s a completely neutral character, which isn’t necessarily bad, as the player dictates his choices.
Jan the technician had a contrasting life | he remained with his parents, ousted his father, worked in an underground workshop, became entangled with a criminal group, and eventually secured a regular job. He’s tougher, more unrefined, and doesn’t mince words.
This narrative illustrates how profoundly circumstances can shape a person. Or perhaps it’s individuals who shape their circumstances? After all, Jan Prime and Jan Technician had identical lives before their paths diverged.
However, there’s a drawback | sometimes the characters articulate their emotions so vividly it appears they’ve been consulting psychologists from the same online service since childhood.
About the demo
In The Alters demo, only the prologue is available. It can be run in an hour or leisurely walked in an hour and a half. During this time, you can explore the world, extract resources, build outposts, build a base, craft various fun, manage a colony, create one alter, quarrel with him, and then make up.
The demo is well optimized, although there are occasional small freezes. It “weighs” 17.6 GB, which is not surprising with such a quality of graphics.
The Alters demo will be available until June 17, so you still have a few days left to try this game for yourself. The Alters is set to launch later this year on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, including a release on Game Pass.
